Disco Volante - World Sick

MP3: Disco Volante - World Sick (Right-Click-Save-As)

The great nation of Canada has much to offer the world -- masterful hockey players, hilarious transvestite sketch comedy and wonderful but underappreciated rock bands, like Tegan and Sara, national champions The Tragically Hip, and the Juno Award winning Broken Social Scene.

World Sick is a teaser track from their highly anticipated (at least by me,) John McIntire (Tortoise) produced fourth record "Forgiveness Rock Record," and if it's any indication, along with "All To All" from last week's playlist, it's going to be another winner.

1. Broken Social Scene - World Sick (6:47)2. Yo La Tengo - Tom Courtenay (3:12)3. Sufjan Stevens - All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace! (4:33)4. The Zombies - 03 Tell Her No (2:06)5. Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (3:09)6. kid koala - i like my beats (3:54)7. Miles Davis - Rated X (5:06)8. PJ Harvey - The Garden (4:12)9. Gonjasufi - Sheep (4:03)10. Arthur Verocai - Na boca do sol (2:54)11. Parliament - I Just Got Back From The Fantasy, Ahead Of Our Time In The Four Lands Of Ellet (4:30)12. Masters of Illusion - Let Me Talk to You (9:19)13. Sun Ra - We Travel The Spaceways (3:24)

Disco Volante - Convinced Of The Hex

For me, the bizarre career of The Flaming Lips is a perfect example of just how wrong you can be. As a music fan, I'd known about them for years, long before their seminal breakout album The Soft Bulletin, and I'd always considered them born losers. They were an ok band, pretty cool and interesting to noise fans actually, but far too weird for mainstream appeal. She Don't Use Jelly? Come on! But a friend mine was adamant that they were the best band in the world, he even bought Zaireeka, their baffling boombox experimental album that required you play its four discs in four separate players just to listen to the thing. Then in 1999 came The Soft Bulletin. Wow, that lumpy, ugly, punk rock caterpillar had somehow transformed into this gorgeous, multi-layered butterfly. And in 2002 they did it again with Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.

The 'Lips new album, Embryonic, is another instant classic. This time just dangling on the edge of accessibility, it's a masterpiece of fuzzed out psychedelia and propulsive krautrock rhythms. It's just shocking how good these guys are. I was wrong all along, and I couldn't be happier! So here's the first track off the album to start our playlist.

Also, this episode is dedicated to legendary Lower East Side poet Jim Carroll, who died this summer. His book The Basketball Diaries is the kind of thing you read as a mixed up kid in high school that changes your life forever. I know it did mine. Cheers Jim!

MP3: Disco Volante - Convinced Of The Hex (Right-Click-Save-As)

1. The Flaming Lips - Convinced Of The Hex (3:56)2. Deerhoof - Running Thoughts (3:47)3. Gang Starr - Manifest (4:56)4. William Onyeabor - Better Change Your Mind (8:23)5. Marianne Faithfull - Broken English (4:40)6. Ween - Back To Basom (3:46)7. Yo La Tengo - I'm On My Way (4:36)8. Nellie McKay - Gin Rummy (2:59)9. Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career (4:19)10. Air - Tropical Disease (6:47)11. Joyce - Feminina (3:48)12. Jim Carroll - "A Peculiar-Looking Girl" (6:22)

Disco Volante - Mudra

Greetings True Believers, this week's playlist is very much a trip down memory lane, most of the music being stuff I was listening to back in the '90's, with a few exceptions. And who better to head such a list than one of our absolute favorites, those Gallic titans of indie-rock, the nearly perpetual Stereolab.

Though currently on "hiatus," the Groop, as they are affectionately known by rabid fans, remain our personal superheroes around here. After almost twenty years of live performance, touring, fourteen stuido albums, and endless b-sides, compilations and rarities, I can't think of a band more fearlessly experimental, effortlessly brilliant or more deserving of a vacation. Let's hope they enjoy the time off and get back to work quick.

The baffling Mudra is exceptionally weird, even for them, and comes from the cute-as-a-button and totally awesome Dimension Mix compilation from 2005.

Enjoy!

MP3: Disco Volante - Mudra (Right-Click-Save-As)

1. Stereolab - Mudra (6:44) 2. Yoko Ono - O'oh (1:31) 3. Yo La Tengo - Moby Octopad (5:47) 4. The Silver Jews - Smith & Jones Forever (3:18) 5. Lush - De-Luxe (3:31) 6. Vivian Girls - Where Do You Run To? (3:14) 7. Pavement - Shoot The Singer (1 Sick Verse) (3:15) 8. Swervedriver - Rave Down (5:06) 9. Cornelius - New Music Machine (3:52) 10. Cornershop - Free Love (5:37) 11. De La Soul - Long Island Degrees (3:29) 12. Wu-Tang Clan - Tearz (4:17) 13. Talking Heads - Sax and Violins (5:18) 14. Harry Nilsson - Put the Lime in the Coconut (3:51)